Vinícius Júnior, Benzema lead Madrid to 2-1 win at Valencia

MADRID: Only a few games into the season, Real Madrid already knows it has an attacking duo it can rely on.

Vinícius Junior and Karim Benzema added to their impressive starts to the season by scoring late goals in Madrid's 2-1 win against Valencia in the Spanish league on Sunday.

Vinícius Júnior scored his fourth goal of the season in the 86th minute, and Benzema netted his sixth two minutes later to give Madrid its third straight win in the league.

The victory leaves Madrid top with 13 points, two more than defending champion Atlético Madrid, which was held 0-0 at home by Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.

"It's always hard to play here and it was even harder after they scored," Vinícius Júnior said. "Things were not going our way but in the end we found a way to rally and get the victory."

Vinícius Júnior and Benzema have combined for 11 of the team's 15 goals in its first five league matches and top the league's scoring charts. AGENCIES